Senior officials to check fog chaos at rly stations

Major delays in the arrival and departure of trains due to fog has woken up the Northern Railways from deep sleep. Rajat Arora reports.

Major delays in the arrival and departure of trains due to fog has woken up the Northern Railways from deep sleep.

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The Northern Railways has decided to post senior officials at all major railway stations in Delhi to monitor the situation and look after passenger amenities. The officials, including the head of departments, will be working round-the-clock at New Delhi, Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations.

The average delay in train timings has been around seven hours even when dense foggy days are yet to arrive.

“Passengers face problem in getting information about their trains at stations. So, senior officials will be deployed at stations. They will also monitor the management, arrival and departure of trains," said an official.

The Railways say this will help manage train and passenger movement at stations and feedback will be given to the general manager, Northern Railways, on a regular basis.

“We always experience chaos at stations during foggy days. So, this year, The general manager has decided that all senior officials will manage the stations and passengers,” the officer added.

All major trains, including high-speed premium trains like Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Janshatabdi, are running hours behind schedule. All east-bound trains are majorly affected due to fog. On Wednesday, the number of delays came down to 130 from 200. “On Wednesday, there was an improvement in fog condition,” said an officer.